from Ares
for Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (GA)
Panaji, Apr 8: Death of two Britishers at North Goa's Morjim beach by drowning has exposed Goa government's tattered beach safety plans.
Government figures reveal that this year, till date, 16 foreigners have drowned in Goa, a tourist hotspot where four lac foreign visitors lend to soak in the sun every year. Last year 59 foreigners and year before that 55 foreigners had lost their lives in strong sea undercurrent.
"There are no proper signages. People do not know where to swim and where not to. There are no lifeguards and even if there are few, they are long away," Phillip Webb, North amptonshire, UK,stated.
Webb, who retired as industrial administrator is a regular visitor to Goa and also frequents places like Ooty, Kulu Manali along with his partner Susan, who is also a retired industrial researcher.
"There are few beach stretches where there is hard rock. The sea level changes within minutes and people get washed away," Webb said.
On Sunday evening, two Britishers, Horne Stanley William Thomas (69) and Lisel Claire Smith (37), both from Dover-Kent, UK, got drowned at Morjim beach, famous for the presence of Russian tourists.
Eyewitnesses at this beach revealed that few foreigners who were swimming near the duo attempted to rescue them but failed. The foreigners themselves fished out the body after half an hour.
"Lifeguards stand much away from the waters. By the time, they rushs towards their equipments and jumps in water to rescue, person gets drowned," Krishna Naik, a local shack guy, who was amongst the crowd which witnessed the drowning incident stated.
Goa government has posted 51 lifeguards along the 105 km long beach stretch. But this menpower is not enough to guard the vast beach stretch which is frequented by thousands of tourists.
"There should be a watch tower. Lifeguard should be given better equipments. There should be hoardings guiding the people on how, when and where to swim," Benedict Fernando, another UK national, opined.
Goa government, however, swears by its ambitious beach safety management plan which will be in place with the active participation of private players.
"The plan will be in force from next month onwards. The beach safety will envisage beach cleaning, saving people's life from drowning and security," Lyndon Monteiro, officer on special duty, state tourism ministry, stated.
The ministry has also planned to install CCTv cameras at vital points to monitor the activity on the beaches. "In next one month, everything will be in place," Monteiro clarified.
Earlier News: